This is Episode 1 of our newly launched blog series.
You can find the introductory post, including links to all episodes, here.
The Organizational Knowledge Creation Theory developed by Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi is a foundational framework that forms the core of modern knowledge management.
At its heart lies the SECI model—a dynamic, process-based approach to understanding how knowledge is created, shared, and expanded within organizations.
Rather than treating knowledge as static data, Nonaka sees it as an ongoing interaction between tacit knowledge (personal, context-specific, hard-to-formalize) and explicit knowledge (articulated, systematic, codified).
These two forms of knowledge interact through four distinct, yet interconnected modes:
- Socialization (Tacit to Tacit) – Knowledge is shared through direct experience. This includes observation, imitation, and hands-on practice, much like apprentices learning by watching a master.
- Externalization (Tacit to Explicit) – Tacit insights are made explicit through dialogue, metaphor, and conceptualization. This is where hidden know-how becomes sharable knowledge.
- Combination (Explicit to Explicit) – Explicit knowledge is collected, categorized, and recombined to form more complex sets of information—such as creating a new database or strategy.
- Internalization (Explicit to Tacit) – Individuals embody explicit knowledge through experience and practice, turning formal content into intuitive skill or judgment.
These four modes do not operate in isolation. Together, they form a knowledge-creating cycle, where each transformation builds upon the last. As this cycle repeats, knowledge spirals outward across levels of the organization—from individuals to teams, and eventually to the entire system.
Understanding the SECI model provides answers to questions such as the following:
- How does an organization convert tacit, personal knowledge into shareable knowledge?
→ An organization transforms individuals’ tacit knowledge (personal wisdom) into explicit knowledge (shareable knowledge) through the processes of Socialization and Externalization. First, during Socialization, experiences and feelings are shared, allowing tacit knowledge to be exchanged and a foundation for knowledge to be built. Then, through Externalization, tacit knowledge is converted into explicit knowledge by articulating it in language or visual forms, making it understandable and shareable by others. This process turns personal wisdom into an organizational asset available for use by the entire organization.
- How does explicit knowledge evolve to gain new meanings?
→ Explicit knowledge evolves through the processes of Combination and Internalization. During Combination, existing explicit knowledge is combined, edited, and restructured to create new explicit knowledge. Then, through Internalization, individuals absorb this new explicit knowledge into their own tacit knowledge through practice and experience, deepening their understanding. In this way, explicit knowledge evolves from mere collections of data or information into living knowledge imbued with meaning.
- How does organizational learning become “living knowledge” rather than just accumulated records?
→ Organizational learning continuously progresses within a “knowledge spiral,” in which the four knowledge conversion processes of the SECI model are repeated. Rather than mere accumulation of information or records, tacit and explicit knowledge are dynamically exchanged and converted between individuals and groups, leading to deeper knowledge and the creation of new value. This process becomes embedded in the organization’s culture and “Ba” (shared context), permeating the organization as “living knowledge” that supports innovation and sustained learning. The knowledge spiral and Ba will be discussed in more detail in Episodes 2 and 3.
Ultimately, SECI is more than a framework—it's a philosophy of how innovation emerges from the flow of human knowledge.
Our next post (Episode 2) will delve into The Knowledge Spiral.
